session eleven recap

Although it is off topic for tonight’s reading, I HAVE to share with you a disturbing question that entered my mind. Looking on the internet, I’m not the first to have this question. And although it is back tracking to talk about the rapture, I think exploring this will give us a firm foundation on the rapture whether we actually answer the question.

So here we go…

We believe that our souls go to heaven to be with Jesus when we die but our bodies “sleep” in the grave. When Jesus comes for us we will meet Him in the air. Those who have already died and their souls are in heaven, their bodies will rise to be reunited with their souls right?

So… what if… your donated organs…are in the body of a nonbeliever when you are raptured? Do they come along? Because if God is gathering up the original matter that’s a TERRIFYING prospect for nonbelievers with corneal implants, pancreas or heart transplants.

So I got to thinking about that and we can search a lot of places but let’s look in the Bible. 

2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us that when we die we are away from the body and at home with the Lord
1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us the dead in Christ will rise first. If their soul is already up in heaven than clearly we’re talking about bodies rising.
1 Corinthians 15:52 tells us the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. So these bodies that rise, they will be changed
John 5:29 calls it a resurrection to life or death depending on those who have done good or evil
Verse 28 tells us people will come out of the tombs.

Returning to 1 Corinthians 15:37-38 we read

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 

…

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

So it seems that what is raised, what comes out of the tomb, what is resurrected, is not the body that was put in the tomb but a new GLORIFIED body. This also helps explain why Jesus would be unrecognizable at first. Looking like Himself, but different, glorified, without blemish. Close enough that eventually you get it is Him, different enough that it takes you a moment (add to that perhaps the Spirit kept disciples from recognizing Him at first.) 

Mary knew His voice
Thomas His scars and punctures
Two others when He broke bread

    So no, when you donate organs God probably isn’t going to reconstitute the original matter. But that would have been a nightmare scenario. Not like there aren’t plenty of them about to happen already. 

So onto the text: silence in heaven for about half an hour
Angels have been praising God
Various praise and likely noise

If you are watching a scary movie and there is a dramatic rising soundt rack and the. Suddenly…silence… what do you think that means?
Anticipation, something BIG is about to happen

Some copyright material from the book I'm not including here

We also talked about the believer and cremation (it is not prohibited like some believe.) And we talked about how AI is rapidly progressing, can be used for good, but also is being used to fuel the kind of degeneracy that was mentioned at the end of this chapter